The Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds from Australia following outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strains H7N3 and H7N9 in Victoria.
The outbreaks were reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) on May 23, 2024, in Meredith and on May 25 in Terang—both in the state of Victoria in Australia. The Australian Center for Disease Preparedness confirmed the outbreak.
According to DA Memorandum Order No. 21, the ban applies to all live birds, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) will also suspend issuing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSIC) for these products from Australia.
Shipments already in transit, loaded, or accepted at port before the official communication to Australia are exempt, provided those products were slaughtered or produced on or before May 9, 2024.
Australia is a significant source of poultry for the Philippines, ranking fourth for chicken meat with aggregated imports of 5,365 metric tons (MT) and third for mechanically deboned meat (MDM) at 4,162 MT as of April 2024.
The Philippines previously imported 46,987 day-old chicks and 30,780 hatching eggs from Australia.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Philippines temporarily halts entry of poultry products from Australia due to avian flu”